In the construction of ships it is a common practice to attach a downcomer for supporting electrical hardware to a stud welded to a deck. A stud that has become used for this purpose includes one end that is adapted to be welded to the deck and an opposite end which has four flat surfaces interconnected by rounded corners. Two openings extend through the latter end of the stud interconnecting two opposite flat surfaces. The downcomer typically is a square tube with spaced openings extending the length of two opposite walls. Wireways are attached to the downcomer by fasteners that extend through these openings. One end of the downcomer can be extended over the end of the stud and attached to it by means of bolts that extend through openings in the downcomer and those in the end portion of the stud.
This makes a satisfactory attachment when the interior of the downcomer fits snugly over the weld stud. However, in some instances, because of the number of wireways that must be accommodated on the downcomer and the load that they must carry, it is necessary to use a square tube of a larger size which has an internal transverse dimension greater than the transverse dimension of the stud. In that event, the tight connection cannot be made and vibration between the stud and downcomer cannot be prevented. This results in objectionable noise. Also the connection may not be as secure as that where a tight fit can be obtained. This type of connection is not acceptable. Therefore, there has existed a need for a suitable means for connecting downcomers of larger dimension to weld studs of smaller dimension.